


Rules of Nature

by TVBS



Category: X-Ray & Vav (Cartoon)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-03
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-12 16:57:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4487475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TVBS/pseuds/TVBS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Who is Mogar? That is the question on lips, penned by hands, blared by headlines. Raised by animals, but what else? What else is he?</p><p>It's the question running through Vav's head as they look for X-Ray, hoping beyond hope that X-Ray is still alive.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Being tracked by a starving beast

**Author's Note:**

> My life is out of control, apparently. It was either this or a new chapter to Fall With The Pain before RTX, and the new chapter isn't quite done yet. So. Enjoy.

Ah, night. Lovely time of day during the summer. Couples walked down streets, children finished up their play before tired mothers gathered them back in for dinner, and criminals plotted their next move to make their own evenings a special type of perfect for them.

Oh, and X-Ray and Vav stood on the bus, bracing themselves as it screeched to a halt.

"I don't see why we have to go downtown now," Vav argued, shifting his weight as the bus started to move again. "Surely the best place for our base of operations should be closer to the shops, not City Hall. Crime is much more likely to happen there."

"That's what they want you to think," X-Ray shot back, his free hand gesturing. "You have to think like a criminal, Vav." In response to his own words, X-Ray crossed his eyes and stuck out his tongue. "Durr, I'm a criminal in a city with two awesome superheroes. I'm going to go blow up the City Hall!" His face smoothed back into seriousness as Vav frowned, not able to say anything about that. "I promise you, there will be some- THIEVES!" Vav jumped as X-Ray's arm pointed past him, out the window at a trio of thieves exiting a store.

As it had become with most bus drivers in the city, as soon as the word left X-Ray's mouth, the driver slammed on the brakes, sending everyone flying forward. Without waiting, the duo sprung into action, exiting the bus and posing proudly with hands on their hips as the bus closed the doors behind them and drove off. "You won't get any further," Vav announced, watching as the criminals started swearing and backing away. "You won't stand against the might of-

"X-Ray- 

"And Vav!" With the synchronized declaration, both of them puffed up their chests a little.

"It's X-Ray and Vav!" One of them squeaked, unnecessarily. "Boss, what do we do?"

"I know what you're going to do," X-Ray interrupted, one hand going to his glasses. "You're going to eat justice, bitches!" With that, he let out a blast aimed right in the middle of them. X-Ray's aim had gotten a lot better, but sometimes he could only hit one of the three. Probably the boss, as the other two just froze, looking at each other.

Then, they split, their sacks swaying behind them as they booked it.

"Stop!" X-Ray ran after one of the thieves as Vav turned his attention towards the other, hands outstretched to activate his slo mo powers. There wasn't much he could do offensively, but- "Now, X-Ray!"

Nothing. Vav turned his head, frowning.

"X-Ray?" Vav looked around, trying to find his friend before turning back to his own criminal.

And jumping because Mogar was right in front of him, sniffing him. His gaze raked over his form before settling back. "You are not the one." His gaze flicked up towards Vav, making the superhero go still under the look. "You hunt every night?"

That wasn't what he expected to hear. "I-" What could he say to that? "I'm a hero for justice, Mogar. People like- like this thief, they're to be brought to justice. X-Ray and I have to go out every night to make sure they are brought to justice."

Mogar looked between him and and the thief, his face set in an unimpressed mien. "So you hunt."

Vav shook his head at Mogar. "No, it's not-" He looked at the thief trying to run in slow motion, then back at Mogar. "We aren't hunting. We're good and just."

That obviously wasn't the answer Mogar wanted to hear, as he turned away, starting to leave. Vav watched as he leapt away, his hands still outstretched to keep the criminal locked in slow motion.

Who was Mogar to ask that, anyway? He didn't hunt these people. He and X-Ray made sure the streets were safe, that's all.

A concussive blast suddenly came out and dropped Vav's thief, letting him lower his hands. "Hey Vav," X-Ray greeted, dragging his own criminal behind him. "Little bastard decided to run pretty far on me. Got him, though. Hey, what's up? You're looking pretty serious."

"Huh?" Vav blinked at him, then turned to where he could imagine Mogar looking down at the two of them. "Just... Mogar."

And like usual, X-Ray's demeanor changed at the mention of his "arch-nemesis." He scanned around him, then looked back at Vav. "Where is he? What did he do?"

"No, it's not-" Vav raised his hands to try and pacify his partner. "He just showed up and talked to me for a bit, s'all."

X-Ray looked at him for a moment, then crossed his arms, dropping the thief he was holding. "You should have stopped him," he muttered. "Stupid jerk hogging our territory..."

"He's not hogging anything, X-Ray." Vav rubbed the back of his head, looking away. "We should turn these blokes in to the police."

X-Ray looked around at the trio of wannabe thieves, and nodded, putting aside his Mogar-hate for now. "Yeah. You still have the phone in your undies?"

* * *

Another fulfilling day of crime fighting. Vav threw himself down on his bed, sighing blissfully as he sunk into the mattress. It always felt good to come home after a day like that. It wiped him out, but crime fighting was definitely his calling. Definitely what he could see himself doing for the rest of his life. Vav closed his eyes, stretching slightly and rolling onto his side. He needed to get up and get out of his uniform (and shower. Eeech) but right now, this felt good. Yeah. This felt really good.

Though, what did Mogar want to say about "hunting"? He and X-Ray didn't hunt the criminals. They just made sure nothing happened and stepped in when it did. If nothing happened then it was okay. They weren't hunting the criminals. Just making sure all was well.

Vav's eyes opened as the thought stuck with him. Is that was Mogar did? Hunt? That was disturbing if that was the case. He hunted the criminals down, obviously looking for someone in particular. So what would happen if he met that person? Mogar showed little restraint against the people he wasn't looking for. It would be terrifying if he actually found that person. Vav sat up, shivering as he realized he might actually watch Mogar kill someone. Or see an actual body of someone Mogar killed. And then have to bring Mogar to justice...

He'd never actually seen a dead body. Maybe X-Ray was right and Mogar needed to leave the city.

His pants suddenly vibrated and chirped at him, and Vav realized he hadn't taken the phone out. Quickly, he fished it out of the depths and answered. "Hello?"

A semi-familiar chuckle rolled through the speaker. "I would assume this is Vav?" came the smooth male voice, tickling on the edge of Vav's memory.

"Yes. Who is this?" Vav's brow wrinkled as he tried to place the voice. He had heard it before, and he didn't like it. Who-

"You wound me, Vav. After how I nearly killed you and everything. Tut tut." Vav's spine turned to ice at the words, his mind starting to fit the voice to a face and name. "But enough of that. I have your friend, X-Ray. Would you like to say something to your friend?"

"... and your fucking holes what the hell..." X-Ray's voice suddenly rambled over the speaker, making Vav's breath catch in his throat. It didn't sound like he had placed the receiver next to X-Ray, but-

"What have you done?!"

"Me? Oh, just stole your friend, put him in one of my favorite holes, and will be feeding him to Edgar if you don't find us in... do you think three days is fair?" came the lazy question. "I think three days is fair. I have to have a proper murder to kick off me getting out of jail, after all."

"If you've hurt X-Ray," Vav started to threaten, only to be interrupted by a laugh.

"You won't know until you see. So find us in the next three days!"

And the Mad King hung up.


	2. The Hunter and the Agile Prey

”Miss Hilda, Miss Hilda!”

”I swear to God.” Hilda pushed up her glasses slightly to pinch the bridge of her nose with her free hand, other hand still tangled in ORF’s circuitry. “If this isn’t anything important I am going to kill you, Vav. What the hell do you want?” She paused for a moment as she lowered her hand, taking in exactly who was in front of her. “Where’s your idiot-in-crime?”

”Miss Hilda, the Mad King’s broken out of jail or wherever he was and kidnapped X-Ray!” Vav knew he was breathing a little too fast, but it had taken him far too long to convince the guards to let him through at this time of day. What could the Mad King be doing to X-Ray? He needed to see Hilda now! “And I don’t know where he is and he’s threatening to feed X-Ray to Edgar whoever that is and-”

”Whoa!” Hilda connected a few wires and pushed ORF’s panel shut, tapping something on her side to turn ORF back on. “Take a breath. So, X-Ray’s kidnapped and in danger, right?”

Vav nodded.

”And by the sound of it, the Mad King called you and told you he’d be feeding X-Ray to something?”

”If I can’t find him in three days, yes.”

Hilda pinched the bridge of her nose again. “That’s just... the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard come out of his mouth.” Before Vav could even open his mouth in confusion, Hilda walked over to a control panel and pressed a button. “I figured something like this would happen to you two at some point, so I hid a tracker in your over-undies. All I have to do is-” Her finger pressed a button- “and there we go.” A computer screen suddenly showed a map, and a blip pulsing over one building. “X-Ray’s there.”

Vav grinned widely at that. Of course Hilda would have had this already planned for! “Thank you so much, Miss Hilda-”

Before he could even turn to leave, she held up her hand. “Where do you think you’re going?”

”To go rescue X-Ray.” Vav felt confused. What was Hilda doing?

”Yeah, and how do you plan on defending yourself? You’re not exactly the powerhouse here.”

Vav opened his mouth, then closed it. “I could take ORF with me?” he suggested. “She’s pretty good in a fight.”

”Yeah, but ORF can’t be everywhere at once.” Hilda frowned, going over to where her schematics would be. “I definitely think you should take her with you, but you need a weapon of your own. Give me half an hour and I should have something whipped up for you.”

”Half an hour?! Miss Hilda, the Mad King’s had X-Ray for _hours_! Isn’t there something I can use now, like a hand ray or... or that thing you used to take down the purse snatcher the first time we met?”

Hilda stared at him, one eyebrow lifted disbelievingly over her glasses. “Vav, that is a highly complicated piece of technology. It’s not like your gloves where you can just hold it out and it’ll do all your work for you.”

”Miss Hilda, please!” Vav stared at her pleadingly, trying to get across just how important this was.

She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

* * *

Maybe he should have waiting for Hilda to make her weapon. This thing was _heavy._

”Okay, you should be coming up on a series of doors,” Rusty’s voice suddenly came over his earpiece. “Don’t uh. Don’t go through any of ‘em. Keep going. Bad stuff behind those doors.” There was a rustle, the sound of Rusty moving building plans around. “Man, did he have enough doors or what?”

Vav cast a nervous look over to ORF, waiting for her to say anything about life signs or anything around them. It was a little distressing how quiet she was being. “That’s all well and good, Rusty, but I need to know how to get to X-Ray,” he started.

”Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Rusty cut him off, and a sound of him swallowing something came over the earpiece. “Okay. Take a left at the next corner and the third door on the right.”

”Left and third door,” Vav muttered under his breath. “ORF, are you sure you’re not picking anything up?”

”The walls are made from a material that inhibit my scanning ability,” she chirped. “However, each door is not and I have scanned inside every room we have passed. There are no living beings in those rooms.”

The way she said it made Vav’s skin crawl a little bit because... no, he wouldn’t think like that. X-Ray was still alive. He took a deep breath, hefting Hilda’s gun. X-Ray was still alive and they were rescuing him right now. All he needed to do was go down to the third door on the right, open it, and start down that long hallway. “Rusty, there are two doors ahead.”

”Keep going. The hall should end soon. That’s what you want.”

That’s what he wanted. Vav’s heart picked up at the words. He was close to X-Ray. All he needed to do was keep going and he would be there. But... “ORF, can you scan to see if there are any guards?”

ORF fell silent for a moment, then said brightly, “The walls are made from a material that inhibit my scanning ability.”

”Of bloody course,” Vav muttered, looking down at the gun. Hilda had just given him the basic overview, but what he needed wasn’t too difficult. If there was someone up ahead, to stun he just needed to put the dial up to... 35%, right? And flip... no, don’t flip the switch, that was right. And make sure the light was green. And- The door was here. Vav took a deep breath, looking up at ORF. X-Ray was behind this door, and probably the Mad King and whoever was guarding them. He needed to be ready.

With that, he kicked the door open, letting ORF in first in case there was anyone there before bursting in himself, gun held at the ready. He swept back and forth as he walked into the room, feeling more and more bewildered as he realized... no.

There was nothing. No one. “Rusty, are you sure this is the right room?” Vav asked cautiously, still looking around. There wasn’t even a hole in here!

”Ayup. According to the plans, there should be a place right there.”

”Also, that’s where the tracker is,” Hilda cut in, her voice taking on a worried note. “Vav, is X-Ray not there?”

”No one’s here, Miss Hilda.” Vav slowly started lowering the gun.

”What? No, that doesn’t make sense. I’m tracking him there, so-” Hilda’s voice trailed off as Vav heard her pressing buttons on her end. “Vav, look around. Tell me if you can find what looks like a button or a fake passage or-”

”Got it.” Vav turned around, trying to find something that looked... hidden passage-ish. X-Ray had to be around here somewhere. The only question was to where. He started walking over to a row of tables when he kicked something small under one. Frowning, Vav kneeled and fished the object out, his knee pressing into a groove on the floor. “Um. Miss Hilda? I found something.”

The sounds over his earpiece stopped. “You did? Great! So what did you-”

”I found X-Ray’s tracker.”

Hilda paused. “Crap.”

Vav stared at the tracker for a moment, unable to process it. He found the tracker. Didn’t that mean he should have found X-Ray? But... there was no X-Ray. There wasn’t even a hole. Slowly, he sighed, looking over at ORF. “Have you found anything, ORF?”

”Negative.”

Nothing. Vav let the tracker drop as he turned back to the door. They were back at square one. What were they going to do now? What-

A steel plate suddenly slammed down in front of the door just as Vav came to it, making him jump back in alarm. The phone in his pants started ringing as he took a step towards the plate, absently fishing in them to find the phone. Bringing the phone to the ear without the earpiece was awkward, but once he managed that, Vav cleared his throat. “Hullo?”

”A little predictable, but a good try.” Vav tensed as the Mad King’s voice filtered through the phone’s speakers. “Though, you really should not have hit that groove in the floor then tried to leave.”

”What?”

”You tripped a security alarm.” The Mad King tutted. “And I can’t reset it from here. Too bad. I looked forward to watching you scramble across the city. But, of course, all good things must come to an end.” Before the last word came out of his mouth, a hissing sound filled the air. “Though, if you can somehow get out of there, the game can continue...”

And with those words, the Mad King hung up.

Whatever that hissing sound was, it wasn’t good. Vav whipped around, trying to see if there was another way out. “ORF! I need to get out-” A cough built in his throat, choking the words. “I need-” No, he couldn’t get them out. Whatever was in the air now was making him gasp and cough. “ORF...”

”Your life signs are decreasing.” ORF’s cheery voice stated this matter-of-factly. “I recommend leaving this room.” As Vav stared at her, coughing, she floated over to a wall. Without another word, ORF grew her arms and legs, blasting a hole in the wall leading to outside. “There is now a route to leave this room.”

Stumbling, Vav started over to the hole. It would be hard to make it, but he could. His legs were growing weak but it wouldn’t take that long, he could make it- Yes, he was almost there- Hands grabbed his arms, dragging him the rest of the way into the open as fresh air rushed into his lungs. Vav collapsed, knees hitting the grass as he coughed, his chest hurting. Slowly, he looked up to see who it was that helped him out, and blinked.

He’d recognize the silhouette of Mogar leaping away anywhere.

* * *

”I coulda told you it was a trap.”

”Shut up, Rusty,” Vav groaned, leaning back in his seat. “It was the only lead I had.”

”The Mad King wasn’t as dumb as I thought he was going to be,” Hilda mused, looking at the computer screen. “Which isn’t a good thing. You’re right, this was our only lead. We have no idea where to go next.”

Vav just stared at the computer screen, biting his lip. X-Ray was somewhere there. He was there, and he was alive.

He had to be.

And Vav would find him.

_End of Day One_


	3. Out Here Only The Strong Survive

”Sit _down_.”

Vav didn’t pause in his pacing at Hilda’s cross tone, one hand to his chin as he thought. They didn’t have a lead, but they needed to find X-Ray. They only had two more days left. So what could they do? Where could they find a lead? He spun on his heel, cape swirling around him as he paced back the other direction, letting out a thoughtful noise. There had to be someone-

”Sit down or I will make you sit down.” Oh, that was a very angry Hilda. “Geez. You’re making me dizzy.” She went back to her seat, sighing as she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Rusty’s out trying to find someone he might know. Vav, are you completely sure you have no one you can think of that might help us?”

”No, Miss Hilda,” he said absently, trying not to pace again. “I don’t-”

”What about your reporter girlfriend? Would she have any sources for things like this?”

For a moment, Vav thought about it, then brightened. “Of course! Ash! She might know something!”

Hilda groaned, visibly trying not to hit him. “Great, great. Give her a call, would you?”

He was already fishing the phone out of his pants, punching in her number as he started pacing again, ignoring Hilda’s annoyed sigh. It rang, rang... rang... A spike of panic lanced through Vav as he heard it ring, realizing that Ash might not answer, she might not be there, she might-

”Ash Samaya.”

Vav had forgotten just how sweet she sounded. But now wasn’t the time to pay attention to her voice. X-Ray depended on him. “Ash. I need your help.”

”Vav?” He could hear her shift the phone on her end. “What’s going on?”

”Ash, please. I need your help. I don’t know what to do and I need help and X-Ray depends on it-”

”Whoa.” Just that calm word penetrated in, defusing the panic that was building. “Deep breaths, Vav. I’ll help. I just need to know what’s going on.”

Vav’s hand tightened on the receiver. “You can’t tell anyone, Ash.”

”I won’t.”

”You _can’t._ ”

”Not even to sell papers,” she swore. “You’re really wound up about this. What’s wrong, Vav?”

Vav looked up at Hilda, who nodded at him. “X-Ray’s been kidnapped.”

A gasp came from over the phone. “What happened?”

”The Mad King broke out and kidnapped X-Ray. And he’s told me that if I can’t find X-Ray in three days he’ll feed X-Ray to Edgar and it’s already been a day and-”

”Hey.” Ash broke into his panic again, insistent. “So you need my help finding him?”

”Yes.”

Ash went silent for a moment, only the sound of phones ringing and papers shifting coming over the receiver. Vav continued to pace as it went on, ignoring Hilda’s death glare. Finally, Ash came back on the line. “I can make a few calls,” she told him. “I can’t spend too much time on this today since I have a few stories that need to make it out before their deadline today, but I can get some people on it. I can tell them I just need to know about properties the Mad King may have had that aren’t exactly on the books, and get the information back to you.”

Vav stopped, beaming. “You can? You’re the best, Ash!”

”Don’t mention it.” She paused for a moment, then, “I hope you find him,” was said before she hung up.

Vav hung up as well, the words staying with him as he went back to pacing. ‘I hope you find him.’ Like not finding him would... no, it wasn’t. She was just wishing him well. She was just-

”Okay!” Hilda grabbed his shoulders suddenly, pushing him down onto a stool. “You! Sit! Stay!”

”M-miss Hilda!”

”You can worry while sitting down,” she informed him. “Geez.”

Vav grumbled at that, crossing his arms, but stayed sitting. His mind went back to the tracker. The Mad King must have known that would have been in their suits, and must have known exactly where to look. A vision of the Mad King with his hand down X-Ray’s over-undies made Vav cringe, but his mind soon wiped that with the memory of strong hands grabbing him and hauling him out.

What was Mogar thinking? Why did he go into a place that had just had a wall blown out and grab Vav, taking him to safety? Vav drummed fingers against his knee, thinking. Was Mogar following him? If he was, why?

Just what was Mogar’s intentions? He just... came up, accused Vav of hunting criminals, rescued him from poison gas... why would he do any of that?

... would he want to help Vav? He was already looking for someone... surely he would understand it and want to help?

Vav groaned, slumping on the stool, wanting to get up and pace again but not wanting to risk another outburst from Hilda.

* * *

”I still say Haywood Dairy is a viable location,” Ash told Rusty mildly, one hand on her hip.

Rusty shook his head. “Nah. Been out there. Nothing but cows. Now... this one-” Rusty pulled out building plans, pointing. “See? It’s been abandoned for months and has a hole.”

She hummed a little while looking at the plans. Hilda stood across from Rusty, one hand following the lines of the plans as she considered it as well. As they did that, Vav came up beside Ash. “Thank you for coming by so quickly,” he told her quietly.

”Yeah, I got a lot of answers really fast so I finished my stories as came as fast as I could,” she answered. “Are you okay?”

Vav nodded. “I’m fine. I’ll be better once we find X-Ray.”

Ash smiled a little at that, nodding. “Yeah. Well, we have a few ideas now, so...” She turned to Vav. “You know, in most polite circles, in return for something like this, a girl might get an exclusive interview in return.”

”I can’t get you an interview with Mogar,” he started when she shook her head.

”Not Mogar. I think the city needs an interview with its superheroes, X-Ray and Vav.”

He smiled a little when he realized what she was saying: They would find X-Ray. “I’ll think about it.” He would say yes, but... they needed to find X-Ray first. And Ash knew that, as the smile she gave him in return said.

”Thanks.” She looked back at Rusty and Hilda. “Is there anything else you need?”

”We’ll give you a call if we do.” Hilda frowned as Vav and Rusty shot her dirty looks. “What? Oh. Um... Ash? Thanks.”

Ash smiled at that. “You’re welcome.”

”Okay, so we might have a place,” Rusty told Vav as Ash left, showing him the plans. “It’s better than last time. It’s abandoned, so no need for stealth or any of that.”

Vav nodded, staring at the plans. A place to start, again.

* * *

Abandoned factories were creepier than Vav expected. He opened one door, wincing as the hinges screamed. That and the sound of his footsteps were the only noise in the entire building. He hated it, hated how it pressed into him, how it made him feel he was wasting his time because it was so quiet, X-Ray couldn’t possibly be here-

No.

He had to think X-Ray was here. Keep his head up. Vav took a deep breath as he tried another door, looking down in shock at the door handle came off in his hand.

No going that way.

Okay. Continue on, and try not to think about survival horror games. Try not to think about looking around the corner and seeing a monster about ready to eat his flesh- Nope, not thinking about it! Vav peeked around the next corner, sighing as there was nothing but empty hall. He was being stupid. There was nothing here, and when he opened the next door there would be nothing as well, just-

”What are you doing?”

”Christ!” Vav jumped, hands outstretched before he saw Mogar’s frown. “What are you doing?”

”Following you.” Oh, well. “You are behaving very strangely these last few days, and your partner has not been with you.”

”That’s none of your business,” Vav muttered. “Why have you been following me?”

Mogar just stared at him as if he was stupid. “You are behaving strangely and your partner has not been with you,” he repeated slowly.

”Oh.” Vav turned away. “Well, it’s still none of your business.”

”Mogar is still interested in what’s going on. You are... not doing what you say you enjoy doing.”

”And it’s none of your business what I’m doing!” Vav whirled back on him. “I don’t care if you’re interested. I have something I need to do and unless you’re going to help, get out of my way!”

Mogar stared at him for a moment, making Vav groan and turn back towards the room he had just opened, walking into it. He strode across the floor, crunching glass from the broken ceiling under his feet, the sun peeking out from between clouds. And when he heard more glass cracking, he stopped, taking a deep breath. “You are looking for him,” Mogar said before Vav could say anything, voice thoughtful.

Vav turned, the sun above hiding. “I am. I just- I don’t have time to talk to you or- or whatever you want to do. I have to find him soon or-”

A deafening creak cut him off, then the ground under him split open. It wasn’t a long drop, but still unexpected as the trap doors clicked open, spilling the both of them into a hole. Vav landed hard on one arm, groaning as he slowly rolled over. Well, he found the hole. And... there was no way X-Ray could be here. He had just wasted his time.

”Well, this can’t get any worse,” Vav muttered under his breath.

Then froze as a raindrop hit his nose.

”Of course.”

* * *

”I don’t know why I’m following you,” Vav told Mogar crossly, feeling the ground squelch under his feet as rain ran into his vision. It was cold, wet, and he should be headed back home or to the lab. Not taking a wild bear-man’s directive to follow him to places unknown. Vav tucked his hands under his arms, shivering.

Mogar didn’t answer as a cave came up before them. “You can rest and warm here,” he told Vav.

Which just made Vav stare at him, blinking away rain. “What’s up with you being nice suddenly?”

Mogar didn’t respond to that, and just entered the cave. Once inside, he peeled off his sodden pelt, leaving Vav to stand at the mouth of the cave and marvel. He should have known Mogar would set up another home in a place much less flammable. Though, he couldn’t imagine setting any kind of fire in a cave like Mogar was taking his pants off what the hell. Vav covered his eyes. “M-Mogar!”

”You should take off your wet clothing,” he told Vav, the next wet sound being his pants thrown to the side. “You will not be cold; there are pelts for you to wear.”

Vav chanced a look through his fingers, blushing deeply as he caught sight of Mogar’s backside before covering them again. “I-I’m fine, thank you!”

”Your clothing will dry faster and you will warm faster if you are not wearing them.”

That did sound like it made sense, but- Vav opened his fingers again, sighing as he saw a pelt wrapped around Mogar’s hips. “B-but then I’ll be starkers around you.”

The unfamiliar term flew right over Mogar’s head, and he didn’t even try to catch it. “Do what you will.” Mogar sat down on a pile, getting comfortable. “... your partner. You are looking for him.”

”You don’t waste time,” Vav muttered. “Yeah. X-Ray... someone kidnapped him.”

Mogar didn’t respond right away. “Mogar knows what it is like,” he finally said, not looking at Vav. “Looking for someone. You and your partner are... very close. It is making you act differently now that he is gone.”

”We are,” Vav affirmed, sitting down as well, grabbing one pelt to wrap himself in. “Mogar, if you can help in any way...”

”Would not your partner be upset when he learned who helped you?”

”I don’t care! X-Ray... I need to find him.” Vav stared at Mogar, willing him to say yes.

Mogar raised one knee, making Vav look away with a blush. “You are helpless without him,” Mogar said. “You are not the one with weapons. You need a partner that does have them. Mogar can help with that.”

Vav’s breath caught in his throat as he realized what Mogar just said. “You’ll... you’ll really help? Oh, thank you, Mogar!” He pulled the pelt closer in around him as he looked over at Mogar, smiling, swearing he could see a smile on the other man’s face.

”You are welcome,” he told Vav.

The rain continued to fall as the two of them just sat there, listening to the quiet patter as the day came to a close.

_End of Day Two_


	4. With Their Lives on the Line

"So..." Hilda looked at Vav, alarmed and slightly confused. "What is Mogar doing here?"

"He's helping us." Mogar didn't even bother to spare a glance at them as Vav said this, instead going over to inspect something of Hilda's. "We talked last night about how X-Ray is kidnapped and he said he would help."

Hilda raised an eyebrow at that. "I'm surprised he would even- hey!" Her voice broke off as she strode forward, taking something that looked kind of weaponish from Mogar's hand. "Don't touch that! And don't you growl at me either," she continued, pointing a finger at him as his upper lip rose. "If you're going to help, you're going to play by our rules. Jeez, why are you even wanting to help him anyway?"

"He is helpless without his partner," Mogar told her, his voice rumbling.

That made Hilda pause, tilting her head. "Yeah," she admitted. "Okay, so, why are _you_ helping Vav?"

"He is helpless," came the repeated words. "Mogar will help him."

Hilda blinked, then raised an eyebrow. "Huh." She looked over at Vav, who shrugged at her. "Well," she continued, "guess it's good to have you on the team. Don't screw up."

Mogar didn't react to this at all.

"Phew." She turned back to Vav, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Well, Mogar's going help a lot. He's not wrong; you are pretty helpless without any offense. But it doesn't change the fact we don't have any leads now. Rusty's checking out the last place on the list, and Ash's source can't turn up any more places. Unless Mogar knows of places the Mad King might have taken X-Ray, we don't have any more leads."

"I know, Miss Hilda." Vav put a hand to his chin, looking over the list Ash had given them. "Are we certain some of the places we've crossed off the list absolutely cannot be it?"

She shrugged. "Why? Do you have an idea?"

"No. Just... I don't know." Vav went quiet, the only sound being Hilda going back to work on something, and then the sound of the door opening.

"Oh!" Everyone looked over at Ash's voice. Her eyes were fixed solely on Mogar, her pad and pen already in her hands as she advanced on him with sparkling eyes. "Mogar. I only have a few questions. Where did you come from? What happened to make you come here? What's your favorite drink?"

"Ash!" Vav grabbed her shoulders, turning her away. That was... just a little inappropriate right now.

She looked up at Vav, disappointment flaring in her face briefly before determination set in. "Right. How's the search going?"

"Ash, are you sure that's all the places that your source knows of?"

"Huh?" Ash frowned, confused. "Yeah. I mean, he didn't tell me of anything else. Why?"

Vav let out a long trembling breath. "X-Ray isn't there."

"Oh no." Distress filled her voice as she covered her mouth. "And you only have one more day left. Vav, I can get back with my source, see if there's anything else, but-"

"I know," he told her, looking away. Then frowned, pushing past Ash as he saw Mogar leaving. "Where are you going?"

"Mogar will not stay here for this pity sharing," he informed Vav. "There are other ways of finding information."

"Like how, Mogar?" 

"Mogar finds someone working for this Mad King, and forces them to talk." Mogar looked pleased with this plan.

"You- I- what?!" Vav spluttered. "No- Mogar! We don't know who's working for the Mad King. And we've already wasted two days. It could take a while to find someone, and even then, how will you force them to talk? By the time you do, X-Ray could be-"

"Then what do you expect to do?" Mogar shot back at him. "Sit here and do nothing? Mogar will not sit around and talk while there could be things to do."

"That's just it, Mogar! Anything you could do could make it slower to find X-Ray. We only have one day left! We-"

Ash fit her slim body between the two of them, her hands up. "Hold up!" She glared at Vav, then Mogar. "You both have good points, but arguing about them isn't doing us any good. We need to pick a plan and stick with it."

"I'm with the reporter," Hilda told them from where she had gone to look over building plans. "Though my choice would have been to kick you out of the lab than break up this little lover's tiff, but hey. Mogar, if you want to go search for someone that works for the Mad King, take one of my radios. We'll get ahold of you when we need you. Otherwise, we'll be looking over- hey, Ash, can I borrow your eyes for a moment?"

She nodded, moving around Vav over to Hilda. Which left Vav and Mogar to stare at each other awkwardly. Vav rubbed the back of his head, looking away. "I guess I should get you one of Miss Hilda's radios," he told Mogar slowly. When Mogar didn't answer, he went over to find one of the radios, quietly pulling one out, then jumping as he felt Mogar's hand on his shoulder. "M-mogar, what-"

"Mogar is... Mogar did not mean to upset you," he said gruffly, making Vav turn around with wide eyes. "Mogar only wishes to help you the best Mogar can."

"Oh." Vav looked up at him, then down at his hands, taking one and pressing the radio into it. "Here. I know you didn't want to make me angry. It's just..." He wrapped his hands around Mogar's hand, taking a deep breath.

"You are shaking."

Vav's eyes snapped up to Mogar's, suddenly realizing just how close he really was. "Oh," he said abruptly, letting Mogar go.

"Are you sure?" Vav jumped a little as Ash's voice rose, snapping his attention back to what was going on. "I mean, I completely think it's still a place you need to check out."

"Why would the Mad King have a dairy farm?" Hilda tapped the paper firmly. "We've already checked out all the industrial places he had. So why not check out a completely out of place farm? I'm with you, Ash. We should have checked out Haywood Dairy already. The only problem I have is that it isn't in the city limits. Vav doesn't drive and I don't think Animal Boy over there has his license."

"I can drive them." Ash looked up at Hilda, determined. "I want to see X-Ray found too."

"You sure you can keep from trying to interview Mogar the entire trip?" Hilda shot back at her.

Ash just let her lips curl in a humorless smile. "I think I can let it go for once. Come on, boys. It's going to be a few hours drive out there."

* * *

A few hours was an understatement. The sun barely stayed above the horizon by the time they arrived at Haywood Dairy. Vav didn't make a single noise the entire trip, hands clenched on his knees. Ash tried, at first, to make some semblance of small talk, but quickly dropped that when neither of her subjects responded to her questions. Mogar- didn't even try, only watched the scenery go by. He didn't know how the others felt, but Vav knew he had to tell himself the entire trip - X-ray was alive. Everything was fine. He was being held at Haywood Dairy, and they would find him and everything would be fine.

Everything would be fine.

Ash came to a stop, hand moving the gearshift into park. "Here we are," she told them, looking up at the house and barn. "Where do you guys want to start?"

"I can take the house if-"

"You do not have offense, and you are not a warrior," Mogar interrupted. "Mogar will search."

"That's thoughtful, Mogar," Ash told him awkwardly, "but we need to cover a lot of ground at once. Three sets of eyes will do that faster."

Mogar stared at her, then exited the car. Vav and Ash shrugged at each other, doing the same. "Mogar insists the woman not look," he finally said, looking at Ash. "You are not like the other woman. You are not a warrior nor have warrior weapons."

"Uh..." Ash looked away. "Well. I still think I should look since it'll make the search faster."

"Mogar cannot stop you." But he did not look happy at this as he strode towards the house.

Ash looked at Vav, her face grave. "I know Mogar's right, but I need to help. I'll search the barn."

"Okay, Ash." Vav nodded at her as he went to search the rest of the land. It wasn't as large a farm as he expected it to be. Should dairy farms be bigger than this? There were cows, yes... but it felt like it should be a lot bigger. It felt like something was missing. Vav shook his head, carefully making his way through the darkening fields.

But there was nothing out in the fields. Which, if Vav actually stopped to think about it, made sense. Someone might accidentally come across a pit in the open like that. But then, where would it be? In the house? He started the trek back, thinking about it. The barn actually would be a better bet. No one lived there. Yeah, he should go check in with Ash. She would have the answer.

When he came up to the barn, however, Vav knew he was wrong by the look on her face. "Anything?" she asked, absently wiping her shoes on the ground.

"No." He wouldn't think this was the wrong place. It just meant Mogar found X-Ray in the house and was just currently having his ear filled with how he was a spotlight stealing hog. Vav looked over at Ash, seeing the same thought cross her face. They nodded at each other, going to head over to the house.

Which was when Mogar exited.

Empty-handed.

With no X-Ray following him.

Vav stopped cold at that. No. No, no, no, they- they only had the one chance left. This had to be the place. Mogar started to ask something but he couldn't hear him, not over the roar in his ears. _He had to be right._ X-Ray had to be here.

He...

He wasn't.

They failed.

_End of Day Three._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The updated information on the tags is relevant next chapter. Just so you don't freak out!


	5. Which will succeed: The strong or the weak?

Ash was talking to him. Vav could tell. Those were definitely words, and they were definitely aimed at him. But they didn't matter. Why would they? X-Ray wasn't here. They just spent hours going out to the wrong place on the last day. And now they didn't have time to go anywhere else before midnight. The day was wasted. They were done.

X-Ray was going to die and it was all Vav's fault.

Vav swallowed, unable to move. He had basically killed X-Ray. How- how could he even call himself a superhero? Suddenly, he ripped his gloves off, throwing them at Ash's surprised face. He didn't deserve those. He didn't deserve to be here. Vav started to stride out, head hanging low as the thoughts hit him, constantly. It was all his fault. Everything about this was his fault. He let X-Ray go home alone that day. He didn't go to Hilda early enough or ask Ash about any leads early enough. He-

He didn't do anything right.

He wasn't a superhero. What superhero couldn't save their own partner? He couldn't save anyone. During all this time, he didn't even pay any attention to the city. So much could be happening and he was just ignoring it. What kind of superhero was that? X-Ray would have been ashamed of him. Vav wrapped his arms around himself, taking a shuddering breath. Trying to be a superhero had been what killed X-Ray. They shouldn't have played a game they weren't equipped to win. If the Mad King hadn't been the one to take them down, someone else would have. They just... they weren't real superheroes.

They shouldn't have done this.

And now-

Vav screwed his eyes shut tightly. It was all his fault. Every last bit of it.

He could hear someone coming up to him. Mogar, by the heavy footfalls. And he did not want to speak to the wild bear-man right now. He didn't want to talk to anyone. So he ignored Mogar, willing him to leave him alone. When that didn't work, Vav opened his eyes and glared at him. "What do you want, Mogar?"

"Mogar wishes to know why you are acting not like yourself."

"Isn't it bloody obvious?! X-Ray isn't here. And it's the last day. I-" Vav's voice broke, not wanting to say the next words. "I bloody _failed_ , Mogar. I let X-Ray die!"

Mogar didn't react to that, but only looked at him. "That does not explain why you are not acting like yourself," he finally said. "Mogar does not know why you are not willing to continue to do what you said before."

"And what was that, Mogar?" Vav spat at him. "What did I say before?"

"You told Mogar you do not hunt, but bring people to justice."

Vav's glare slipped away from Mogar at the words. "Yeah, well," he muttered. "I was wrong. Doing this - all of this - I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have tried to be a superhero."

"Mogar does not understand what you mean."

"This!" Vav gestured wildly. "I tried to help people, to bring people like the Mad King to justice, and all it led to was X-Ray's death. I failed as a superhero."

Mogar let out a rumbling thoughtful noise at that. "Mogar does not think you failed as a superhero." Vav stared at him as he crossed his arms. "Mogar has seen what you consider being a superhero. You have helped many, and you do not give up even when you should. And now, Mogar thinks you should be a superhero. The Mad King did something wrong in killing your partner. He should be brought to justice by you." Mogar held out his hand, Vav's gloves clenched in them. "Mogar brought your weapons."

Vav looked down at his gloves. His weapons, so Mogar called them. "What makes you think I want them?"

"Mogar knows. Mogar knows you will want to bring the Mad King to justice." He opened his hands, offering Vav his gloves. "You will honor your partner by doing so."

Honor X-Ray. Vav took a deep breath at that. He would honor X-Ray by doing this. This was what he did, what _they_ had done. Vav slowly took his gloves, slipping them on. X-Ray wouldn't have wanted Vav to sit around moaning like this. He would have wanted him to bring the Mad King to justice too. And- Mogar was right. He wanted to see the Mad King brought to justice for doing this. He just didn't know if he was the right person to do it. Vav looked at Mogar, who looked pleased. "You might be right," he started, "but we don't know where to go from here. We don't know where the Mad King is, or even if he'll contact us again now that the three days are up."

"Mogar has little doubt your friends will find him."

"You have so much faith in us? Why?"

The words made Mogar shrug. "Mogar has not seen a reason not to since seeing how much everyone cares for your partner. Mogar does not doubt you will not stop until you have brought the Mad King to justice."

Vav blinked. There was something more there, but... Mogar was hiding it. He didn't want to talk about it for some reason. "I guess. We should probably leave now, actually." Vav rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. "Mogar... thank you. You didn't have to come out here after me."

"Mogar could not leave you alone when you looked like that." Vav stared at him, trying to understand just what he was saying. "The woman will be wondering where we are."

"Oh. Ash. Yes." He had almost forgotten she was here. How could he had forgotten about her? Vav nodded, starting back towards the barn. If they started looking for the Mad King now... they would have to do so before he decided to take someone else. Who knew what the Mad King would do now. Vav felt a chill up his spine as he looked at Ash's thoughtful face as she exited the barn. Mogar had been right. She wasn't a warrior. What would happen if the Mad King decided to go after her next? He needed to get her back to Hilda as soon as possible. "Ash."

"Huh?" She snapped out of her thoughts, looking at him. "Oh, Vav. Is everything better now?"

He nodded mutely. As well as they could be, anyway. "We need to get back to the lab," he told her.

Instead of agreeing, Ash frowned in thought, her hand coming to her chin. "Actually, I want you to take a look at something." She started walking back into the barn as she continued talking. "I thought about it as you walked away, and I went to check again. I couldn't find anything that really looked like where X-Ray would be held, or a switch or anything, but something didn't really seem right." She stopped in front of a stall. "What do you see?"

Vav peered in, nose wrinkling. "That's where a cow lives. Innit?"

"I thought so at first too! But look at the other stalls." Vav did so, then came back next to Ash, frowning. He didn't get it. "Don't you see? This one is _cleaner_ than the others. I didn't really notice it until I double-checked. I can't see any seams or anything like a trap door, but... it's weird, isn't it?"

Vav rested a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe there just isn't a cow here," he said as he opened the door to the stall.

"You're still going to check, though."

Vav nodded, looking around. Gently, he kicked around some dirt, frowning. It really was a little cleaner than the rest of the entire area. That was weird. He didn't even notice until Ash pointed it out. His foot rolled over something on the ground, and Vav bent down, running his hand over it. "Ash, I think I found something," he told her, kneeling to look at the slight protrusion. Unless he was down on ground level, he couldn't see anything. But- Vav looked up at her, then back at the bump. Then, he pressed it.

The ground under him shook suddenly, and he had to jump away as where he was kneeling pulled away, revealing a ladder. Vav and Ash looked at each other, nodding. "I'm coming with you," she told him as he opened his mouth. "I want to make sure X-Ray's okay."

"There might be danger," he told her, voice stern and soft.

"I know."

There really wasn't anything else Vav could think to tell her. They both knew what could happen.

So down they went. Down and down, until Vav couldn't even see his nose once their feet hit solid ground.

"I can't see," he said in a hushed voice, feeling Ash take his hand.

"It's so dark... wait, I have-" Brilliant light flooded Vav's senses as Ash held up her mobile smartphone, the flashlight turned on. "There." She looked around, the smooth walls of the tunnel meeting them. There was only one path... so they took it, Vav slowly letting go of Ash's hand. He needed to be ready for anything. Though, it didn't seem like anything could sneak up on them. The walls were rather narrow, with no other entrances. And there seemed to be an exit up ahead, with a light. Ash turned off her light as they came up on it, both of them heaving great sighs of relief as they exited into a spacious platform.

Vav walked forward, looking across the area. It looked like there was a hole. Covered, though, by glass. And not lit. The lighting in the area wasn't good enough to see what was down there without nearly being in it. Vav came closer, peering down, then gasped. "X-Ray!"

Ash made a soft noise behind him, rushing over. "Oh my God. X-Ray, are- are you okay?"

Slowly, too slowly, X-Ray rolled his head to look up at them. Vav wrapped his hands around his mouth, holding the dismayed cry in. He looked _terrible._ Not like he had been tortured, but like he hadn't been fed, or- or that someone hadn't been giving him water, or- Vav looked around, and found a control panel. There was one button labeled "OPEN," which Vav pressed, causing the glass to pull back from the hole. As Vav rushed over to the ladder leading down into the hole, Ash already was making her way down, rushing over to him. "He's okay," she told him as he rushed over, her fingers pressed into the pulse on X-Ray's wrist. "I think he's just been kept down here all this time without food or water. Or-" She looked over, and Vav saw the discarded water bottle, long since dry. "Not much water, anyway. We need to get him out of here."

"Right. X-Ray, I'm here," Vav told him, reaching out to him. _Christ,_ he was missing his glasses. That's how the Mad King had gotten him...

"Mm." X-Ray shook his head a little. "No. No."

"Of course I'm here, you silly," Vav started, jumping as X-Ray suddenly screamed at him.

"GET OUT OF HERE! IT'S A TRAP, STUPID!"

"My, my." The only thing more bone chilling than the Mad King saying those words was the sound of the glass sliding shut above them. Vav and Ash's heads snapped up at that, squinting as flood lights suddenly lit, bathing the hole in light. "You performed admirably, Vav," the Mad King told him, his fingers steepling in front of him. "I wasn't sure of how committed to your partner you really were, or how far you would go. I'm impressed you actually did make it this far. And you, Ms Samaya." He tutted, shaking his head. "I had so many more plans for such an... ace reporter. Too bad. But these things happen." He moved away from the hole, towards the control panel. "It was such an enjoyable romp," he told them, his voice rising to be heard. "You, in particular, Vav, were quite amusing. But all things must come to an- urk!"

"Come to an urk?" Vav looked at everyone else, confused.

And then there was the sound of a body hitting the floor. Footsteps, heavy and methodical. And then-

"What is Mogar doing here?" X-Ray asked tiredly? "And- holy shit, is that blood on his sword?"

Vav looked up at Mogar, and at the blood on his sword. "Mogar, what did you do?" he demanded.

"Mogar saved you. Mogar killed the Mad King." He looked around, then started slamming his sword into the glass. Before anyone could do anything more than look at each other, the glass started breaking and shattering around them. "And Mogar is setting you free."

"And Mogar just killed someone," X-Ray said flatly, trying to stand up. "We're not ignoring that, right? You're going to go up there right now and stop Mogar so we can take him in for _killing someone_?"

Vav opened his mouth, looking over at X-Ray, then up at Mogar. He was right. Mogar did kill someone. He had to bring him to justice for murder. But... he looked over at X-Ray again, who looked back at him disbelievingly. Then back up at Mogar again, waiting for him to make his decision.

He closed his eyes.

Then opened them, determined.

"We need to get you home first, X-Ray," Vav told him. "You've been down here without food and water for days."

As X-Ray opened his mouth to argue with this, Vav could hear Mogar turn to leave.


	6. Survived to see another day

"Try not to get these broken," Hilda said as she settled X-Ray's new glasses on his face. "I upgraded your old glasses. Now you should be able to fine tune your x-ray blasts even more."

"Thanks, Hilda." X-Ray adjusted the glasses and started to slip off the stool, stopped by Hilda's hand. "Dude, really?"

"You're still pretty weak," she told him sternly. "You don't need to stand up right now."

"Actually, I do." He turned to Vav, resting his heels on the lower rung. "You and I have something we need to do."

That confused Vav. What could they still have to do? He shrugged at X-Ray, making his partner scowl at him. "I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Mogar!"

"Oh." He should have known. Instead of arresting Mogar for killing the Mad King, Vav had let him go in favor of getting X-Ray help. But... Mogar had saved them, hadn't he? If it hadn't been for him killing the Mad King, they would have all died. At the same time, though... Mogar needed to be brought to justice for killing someone. That was what they did. It was what Mogar told him to do. But Vav felt terrible for bringing to justice someone that helped them. He just didn't know what to do. "X-Ray, he helped us. Maybe we-"

"What we what?" X-Ray glared at him as he cut him off. "That we let him go? Vav, that totally ruins our integrity as superheroes! If we let him go, who else do we let go? We have to arrest the people that need to be arrested. So we need to go arrest Mogar." He looked incredibly pleased at this idea, knowing he would finally get the upper hand on his "arch nemesis" who had saved his life. "Let's go, Vav!"

Go. Arrest Mogar. Christ, he couldn't do it. Not for saving their lives. "Let me go," he blurted out. "Let me... go talk to him. I mean... find him."

X-Ray eyed him, but could only shrug. "Fine, whatever. As long as you actually arrest him."

If Mogar did something while he was talking to him... no, he couldn't even then. It was a weird feeling to nod at X-Ray as he felt, knowing he wasn't going to follow that at all. Knowing that he was going to talk to Mogar about... something. He didn't know what yet, other than he had to talk to Mogar about what happened. Vav stood outside the Monarch Labs building, waiting for the bus as his thoughts pushed into him. There had to be some kind of reason why killing someone was okay. As the bus stopped and he dropped a few coins into the coin machine, no reason came to mind.

He needed to come up with a reason before he got to Mogar's makeshift home. Or else he would have to arrest him.

* * *

"Mogar does not know why you are here." Vav looked away as Mogar stared at him in confusion, putting away his sword. "Is your partner well?"

"X-Ray is fine. That's... kind of why I'm here." Vav rubbed the back of his head, taking a deep breath. "Mogar, you... kind of killed someone."

The words didn't seem to mean anything to Mogar. "Are you well?"

"I'm fine!" Okay, this was going to be harder than he thought. "Mogar, killing someone... it's not a... Mogar, why did you even help me? You had no reason to do so. Why did you want to help me find X-Ray?" That was really what he wanted to know, wasn't it? Not the rest of it- no, he wanted to know why Mogar even wanted to help him in the first place.

Mogar didn't answer him at first. He went over to the pile of pelts, looking down at them as if they held the answer he was looking for. "Mogar had been watching you for a while," came the eventual answer. "You interest Mogar. When you started acting strange, Mogar wanted to know why. When Mogar realized it was because of your partner and that you were trying to find him, Mogar felt moved to help you. You were helpless, and Mogar could help."

Vav blinked at that. "I interest you?"

That made Mogar scowl. "Do not misunderstand."

"I-I'm not! I just want to- to understand why you would bother! Why you would bother helping me, why you would kill someone for me."

Mogar made a rumbling noise, almost a growl. "He was about to kill you. Mogar could not let that happen."

"That doesn't mean anything!" Vav insisted. "Why, Mogar? Why bother to kill somebody?!"

Mogar did growl at him, his upper lip lifting. Vav quieted at that, lifting his hands just in case Mogar decided to attack. He might be able to break out of his ability, but he still could slow Mogar down enough to run away. "It means everything," Mogar finally said, his voice rolling in his chest. "He would kill you. Mogar could not let that happen. Mogar has... gotten quite attached to you. You are not part of Mogar's mission but..."

Vav blinked at Mogar trailed off, trying to patch that together. He was attached to him? What did that mean? What did Mogar just- Vav's eyes opened wide as it hit him. "M-mogar, are you-"

"Mogar will not repeat that."

He almost sounded embarrassed. Vav took a step closer, one hand coming up towards Mogar. "Are you trying to tell me that-" No. He couldn't. Vav was reading into it. He swallowed when Mogar stared at him, his hands still partially outstretched. "Mogar, do you-"

"Mogar... liked working with you." His hand started to come up, then balled at Mogar's side as if he realized what he had almost done. "But Mogar feels you do not like what Mogar did."

"I wish you hadn't killed someone but-" Without thinking about it, Vav took Mogar's hand, feeling the warmth through his glove. "Mogar, did you kill the Mad King because you like me?"

Vav would have never believed it, but Mogar could blush. "It is one reason," he informed Vav, looking down at their hands.

"You like me," Vav murmured. "Mogar, I-" His hand tightened on Mogar's. "I don't know what to say."

"It does not matter. Mogar's feelings for you do not-" Mogar broke off as Vav slapped a hand over his mouth, his eyes going wide at Vav's brazen move.

"Mogar." Vav looked at him intensely, hand light on his mouth. "You helped me find my partner, and you saved my life." Slowly, he leaned in, his hand still between them. "If you're going to say they don't matter, they do. They helped me- they made you into a superhero."

"Mogar does not want to be a superhero," he mumbled against Vav's hand.

That made Vav chuckle. "You were, though." Slowly, he removed his hand from Mogar's mouth, but didn't move away. Just remained close enough to... tilt his head and kiss him, if he wanted to. Vav looked up at Mogar, wondering if he understood what could happen if he just moved his head. If he really wanted to... did he want to? Mogar's hand flexed on his; he had obviously noticed something. "Mogar,' Vav started, not chancing a look down at his lips, keeping his eyes on Mogar's despite all the want to look lower. "I... what you did was a crime."

"Are you going to take Mogar?"

"Christ." Why did he have to use those words when Vav was trying to get a hold on what he was thinking? "If I had to arrest you... you couldn't let me be killed. And I- I'm having a hard time to find a reason to arrest you."

"You like Mogar."

Vav swallowed. "I... I can't arrest you." He could feel Mogar's breath against his lips now. Vav's gaze dropped to Mogar's mouth, a surge of want opening his mouth. "Mogar..."

With a growl, Mogar grabbed his wrists, pushing him up against the wall of the cave. "Do not tease," came the rumble, his eyes hard on Vav's. "Do not tease Mogar with these touches. Either do or leave."

Do or leave. Did he want to? Mogar had helped him so much these last few days... he remembered how it felt when Mogar lifted him out of the gas filled room, the touch of his hand around the radio, the curve of his backside. Vav felt his cheeks heat up, and he shifted a little, flexing his hands in Mogar's grasp. "What do you want to do?" he asked quietly.

In response, Mogar gathered both of Vav's wrists in one of his, the other pressing against his chest. "Mogar wants to touch you," he told Vav. "Here..." His hand drifted down to Vav's hip. "Here..." And then cupped between his legs, rubbing against a half hard cock, eliciting a sharp gasp. "And here." His hand continued stroking him through Vav's uniform, keeping Vav's gaze as he bucked his hips into the touch, arms straining against Mogar's strong grip. "What do you want to do?"

"I want to kiss you," Vav gasped. "I want to touch you too."

Mogar stared at him for a moment, then slowly released his arms. As soon as he could, Vav wrapped an arm around Mogar's shoulders and pulled him close, pressing his lips, need spurring the motion. For a moment, Mogar didn't respond to the press of lips, how desperately Vav opened his mouth, but he soon took Vav's lead, cautiously moving his mouth against Vav's. That was thrilling, the thought that Mogar might not know how to kiss and Vav was teaching him. It spurred his free hand stroking down Mogar's chest, feeling the ripple of muscle under skin. A broken moan escaped Vav's lips as Mogar pressed his hand firmly against his cock, stroking him quickly. "L-let me take my-" Vav whispered into the kiss, thoughts scattered by Mogar's touch. "Let me take off-"

"Let Mogar see you." That was all Vav needed to hear before he started to strip. His gloves came first, pausing before looking at Mogar and purposely setting them to one side - a nod to setting his weapons aside that Mogar followed. The rest of his uniform he shimmed out of quickly, not bothering to see where it landed. When he was done, Mogar grasped his chin, pulling him into a kiss. He was a fast learner, Vav distantly thought as he kissed back, inhaling sharply as Mogar's hands stroked softly across his skin. "You do not have any scars?" Mogar asked, lowering his mouth to Vav's shoulder.

"I have scars!" Then, it hit him what Mogar meant. Battle injuries. "Oh... no, I..."

"Mogar never wants to see this scarred." He licked Vav's shoulder, nuzzling it for a moment as a hand reached his cock again, stroking. Vav groaned, pushing into the touch. His own hand reached down, not surprised that Mogar had also thrown his trousers aside. More surprised by how his hand wrapped around his cock, though, the thickness and heft of it. Vav had never thought to have another's cock in hand, but it proved more exhilarating than teaching Mogar to kiss to watch him growl and respond to the touch, rolling his hips into Vav's strokes.

Vav started to feel the tension build tighter and tighter around him, wanting to break desperately under Mogar's touch. His free hand gripped Mogar's shoulder as he gasped, wanting to pull him closer as he felt it build, overwhelming him- then break, his orgasm crashing over him in waves of pleasured relief as his breath choked in his throat. Mogar nuzzled him, hips pushing incessantly into Vav's hand until Vav picked up his strokes again. The little half whine that came from Mogar's throat when he came made Vav smile as his hand slowed down, Mogar's cock twitching in the aftershocks of orgasm.

Then Mogar kissed him, tentatively. "Is that was Mogar was supposed to do after that?" he rumbled, unsure.

"Yeah," Vav whispered back, smiling. "It was."

* * *

"X-Ray wants to arrest you," Vav told Mogar as he straightened his cape. "I don't think I could stop him if he really wanted to."

That made Mogar growl a little. Vav felt another blush heat his cheeks as he looked over at him, seeing that he still hadn't gotten dressed. "Mogar can beat him."

"Mogar shouldn't beat him." Vav didn't reach for his gloves yet. No, not until he was leaving and needed his weapons. Something told him that was when. "Can you... not be around us? If I see you again, I might have to arrest you and I don't want to do that. I don't want to fight you."

"Mm." Mogar finally reached for his trousers, pulling them on. "Mogar thinks that is possible if you and your partner do not get in the way of Mogar's mission."

"Your mission..." Vav lifted a hand to his chin, thinking. Then an idea hit him. "Ash! The reporter that helped us? She knows a lot of people. Maybe she can find someone that can help you find your mother."

Mogar eyed him suspiciously. "The woman?"

"She's a little zealous about getting a story, but she's really good. I think she could help you." Vav smiled as Mogar thought about that. "It's worth thinking about, innit?" Mogar nodded a bit, still ruminating over that. Vav looked at him for a moment, then scooped up his gloves and slipped them on. "Well, I should-" Vav took a deep breath, looking at Mogar. "Goodbye, Mogar."

"Goodbye." He sounded a little confused. The tone in his voice... sounded almost like he was saying 'see you soon' instead. Like they would do that again. But they couldn't- and yet, if he saw Mogar again...

Vav turned on his heel, leaving. If he saw Mogar again, he'd worry about the fact he'd welcome a kiss from him eagerly later.

He had a town to protect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much! Everyone that read this, left kudos, commented... every single one of you are all lovely people and I love you!


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